John Ginkel to assume duties as Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Sarajevo

(Patria) - John Ginkel has been appointed as the interim head of the American Embassy in Sarajevo for a one-year term, it has been unofficially announced.

He has reportedly already arrived in Sarajevo and will officially assume duties from the current interim head Daniel Koski soon.

Biography

John Ginkel served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv from September 2024. Prior to that, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade (2021-2024).

Before his appointment in Belgrade, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (2019-2021).

From 2015 to 2018, he was Director of the Office of Afghanistan Affairs at the State Department in Washington. He also previously served in two capacities in Afghanistan.

From 2013 to 2015, he was Deputy Director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the State Department.

Ginkel also held other positions in Europe: Political Counselor in Kosovo; Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); and held positions at the U.S. Embassies in Riga (Latvia) and Sarajevo.

Before joining the U.S. diplomatic service, he was a Peace Corps volunteer and a Fulbright scholar in Latvia, where he conducted research for his doctoral dissertation.

Ginkel holds a degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis. He holds the diplomatic rank of Minister-Counselor.